Mate, I remembered.
Brooke is at the cabin.
Relief poured through me, followed by elation.
She was safe. I’d protected her. My wolf chest swelled with pride. My beautiful accountant. She’d shown up at the police station, and through my haze of panic and anxiety, I remembered she’d looked worried. For me. She hadn’t needed to come, but she had. That must mean she cared.
We hadn’t shared anything aloud about our feelings, how we felt about each other. I had kept her being my mate a secret, but I’d also kept quiet about how I felt about her. That she was mine. Forever.
She didn’t know.
She didn’t know.
And–fuck. I’d left her alone at the cabin.
I lifted my head and howled again, this time a mournful sound. What the fuck was wrong with me?
I gave my head a sharp shake and charged back down the mountainside. I didn’t belong on the side of a fucking mountain. I belonged with Brooke.
My mate.
Mate. Mate. Mate, my wolf chanted.
I needed to be with her. Was dying to mark her. The full moon had me so itchy to claim her. But I had to make sure I was calm before I came near her. I couldn’t take the chance of being too rough or marking without her consent.
Did I need to run around some more?
I couldn’t stop myself from going to her now, though. As fast as I’d run up the mountain, I ran back down, desperate to be near my mate. I needed to protect her from any kind of harm. To touch her. To hear her say my name. I needed to make her come tonight like she never knew was possible.
Even though it wasn’t scientifically possible, I swore I caught her scent and followed it straight back to the cabin, like she was the beacon calling me home.
She was because my home was with her.
I bounded up the wooden stairs in wolf form, forgetting to shift until I’d already lifted onto my hind legs and thrown my wolf body against the door. I bounced back, shook my head and shifted, only to find Brooke had opened the door.
There she was in the doorway.
Mine.
Her soft lips parted on a gasp, her cheeks flushed as her gaze raked over me.
I wanted to close the distance between us, toss her over my shoulder. But no. Not yet. I leashed my wolf. Shoved him down deep.
“Brooke.” My voice was rusty. I cleared my throat and tried again, but the only thing that came out was, “Ah…”
Fuck. I was standing there naked as a jaybird with a hard-on for my beautiful mate, and I was pretty sure she’d seen my wolf.
My alpha would kill me, letting an unmarked human in on our secret, but I didn’t care. I needed to be honest and explain who I really was. It was time.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” she admitted.
“Please don’t be afraid of me. Of what I am.” She was still here, so that was something.
I was the worst mate ever. We’d driven up here, and I’d just left her on her own. I’d been desperate to run, but now my wolf and I felt like shit for abandoning our mate, even for a short time.
Shit. How long had I left her?
“I’m sorry I ran off like that.” I tipped my head down as if my alpha had scolded me.